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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Fiberglass Repair

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sodonnell
1st Mate

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76 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/01/2005 : 00:11:12

I won't go into the details of how, but my bow pulpit came into the dock pole head on and bent the pulpit as well as cracking the fiberglass were it is bolted to. (Just the front mounting plates, the mounting plates aft look ok.)
All the fiberglass repair articles I've read include removing the fiberglass and relaminating. (BTW, I've never done any fiberglass repair.)
I'm looking for opinions on whether or not I really need to cut out the cracked fiberglass or if there is better way to go.

Also need to know if the bow pulpit is fixable. The way the pulpit hit, the welding point started to break away.

Any opinions are welcome.

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2984 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2005 : 07:46:51

If the glass is damaged, it should be repaired. If the damage in minor, MarineTex is sometimes chosen to do a "fudged" repair as it is simple and often makes an acceptale repair. Fibeglass work is difficult at first but familiarity quickly changes it to a relatively easy task.

Get a book on fiberglass repair... let one of the pros guide the process.

I'd post a want add for a pulpit, there have been many C25's if that is what you have, parted out and a pulpit might be available.

Edited by - Arlyn Stewart on 08/01/2005 07:48:31

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2005 : 10:10:28

sodonnell,<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">... bent the pulpit as well as cracking the fiberglass were it is bolted to. (Just the front mounting plates ...) I'm looking for opinions on whether or not I really need to cut out the cracked fiberglass or if there is better way to go.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">I'm assuming your rail was pushed back and up by the contact with the piling, right?

When I first got my C-25, it appeared to have had similar damage. (Pulpit pounded against a seawall in a hurricane I was told.) In a misguided attempt to avoid doing the needed fiberglass repairs, a plate of metal was trimmed to cover the visible damage to the deck, and some sort of inadequite backing was stuffed under the damaged areas to try to hold the stanchions and repair plate down to the deck. (As I recall, they didn't even bother to bolt the plate down to the deck.) Over time, rain water seeping under the plate soaked into the plywood deck core. Rot turned the core (and mooring cleat backing blocks) into something with the structural integrity of oatmeal. (This all took place before I got the boat.)

To properly repair both the original fiberglass damage, and the resulting wood rot, I had to remove and remake all the deck core ahead of the anchor locker in addition to grinding out and relaminating the torn and bruised fiberglass. (And making new cleat backing blocks.)

In your case, it might be possible to soak epoxy resin into the damaged fiberglass, and add additional backing plates below deck for a minimum effort repair of questinable strength. It's hard to say for sure from here.

As an aside, I did the structural work using epoxy resin , and had no problems getting polyester gelcoat to adhere to the repair. Since then, I've accidently let the anchor chain slip out of my grip, resulting in it rattling and chattering over the new gelcoat at the sharp radius edge of the deck. This resulted in a few small chips, but not any worse than I'd expect to see in gelcoat over polyester resin as a result of such abuse.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Also need to know if the bow pulpit is fixable. The way the pulpit hit, the welding point started to break away.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">I looked into replacing my slightly bent pulpit. As I recall, the C-25 pulpit dimensions are just slightly larger than UPS max. As a consequence, one can either pay about the price of the part (which be the way is not inexpensive) to have it shipped by truck, or authorize Catalina to cut the new pulpit into UPS-sized pieces, which you would then have welded back together locally. I decided to straighten mine. And speaking of straightening and local welders, you might also consider having yours repaired or remade locally.

I guess a lot of this depends on how much cosmetic wear and tear you're comfortable living with. I have come to accept that it's been a long time since my C-25 was new. I don't give one more minor scratch a second thought. (But then, I live in a 40 year old house and drive a 16 year old car, so I suppose one should view my concern for keeping up appearances in that context!

)

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2005 : 12:38:25

Well doing a far amount of work on my boat I will tell you, as stated above to fix the repair the right way. Don't cut any corners, or you will have to take care of them later, and it will only add to your pocket book. I had a 12" crack in my deck as well as a good sized buldge in my hull that I had to repair. There are many ways of fixing this problem cheap, and very fast, you just have to want to have the time to do it. My repair was estamated at $6500.00, this did include a haul out. I fixed the hull and deck, and repainted the whole boat for 550.00 in parts and supplies. I did have to buy some tools to do the job, but it was for making the job easier. I really didn't want to sand the entire hull by hand, and I did splurge for a good quality spray gun.

First - You need to take some photos of the damage. Its hard to pitchure what exactly happened to the boat by typing it out.

Second - Is the fiberglass damaged, or is it just the gelcoat. Can you tell the damage has gone all the way thru the fiberglass, and the plywood core?

Third - You are going to have to grind it out, No matter if the gelcoat is cracked, or the glass is damaged you need to fix the repair the right way. Grind the cracks down to a 12 to 1 champher. add glass cloth and mat back to the grounded out surface. If you use Polyester resin only use up to 4 layers of cloth at one time. Start with a very small cut of cloth, then 1/8" larger, and so on. Untill you are around 1/8" to the surface of the surrounding gelcoat. Next I would use a polyester filler, and fill the crack or repaired area to the top of the gelcoat flush. I then would take a router and a 1/4 inch bit Set the bit so it will only be down into the material 1/16". Router back out the filled area so it will have a flush area for the gelcoat to go into. Next Call Catalina Direct and get some of the matching Gelcoat for your boat. Fill the repaired are at least 1/16 over the surrounding gelcoat and around 1/2" around the repair. After this cooks, take PVA and apply it over the gelcoat, This will take the polyester resin from a tacky state, to a hardened state. Start working the repair back flush with 400 grit wet and dry sand paper. Sand wet, and switch to 600, when you start to get flush with the deck. you need to over coat the surface because Gelcoat or Polyester resin shrinks, This way you will get a good flush look.

NoN-Skid - If the area has the nonskid patteren there This is the set you will need to take.
Get some PVA and coat a large section of your deck with it. Use two coats. Next mix up some gelcoat and apply a 1/16" layer on the good part of the deck where the pva is. Next take some polyester resin and cloth and layer the gelcoat. I would use at least 9 layers, That means three times with the resin. Let each layer cook (15 to 20 min each) Now what you have just done is made a mould of your non skid. Follow the same notes as above, Take PVA and coat the gelcoated side of your mould 2 times, let this dry. Over fill the reapired surface, now take your mould and line it up with the nonskid pattern, and set the mould down on the deck. Take somthing heavy like a battery and put it on top of the mould to hold it down flush. Work clean, use googles and laytex gloves, if you use the polyester resin you might want a mask, This stuff will give you a huge pounding headache. If you need a better guide, get the book Fiberglass repair by Don Casey. Its not that hard to do, and if you mess it up (1) you can always regrind it out (i had to do this) and (2) take it to a fiberglass repair shop. I will tell you that you will save allot of money doing this yourself, and you will gain a great knowleage of fiberglass repair.
As for the pulpit, Take it off and take it to a local welder. Pick a good welder, someone who is used to working with the stainless steel. I just had a 1'-0" taken out of my ladder to get on the boat. You can see the repair, but it looks great. It cost me $10.00, and is now custom fitted for my transom.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5937 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2005 : 16:22:50

Can you post a photo or two of the damage?

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 08/02/2005 : 12:01:00

Here are some photos of the work I did.

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 08/02/2005 : 12:09:30

Here she is sitting on her mooring.

Edited by - on

Scooter
Navigator

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USA
228 Posts

Response Posted - 08/02/2005 : 12:54:15

What is PVA?

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Ericson33
Admiral

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USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 08/02/2005 : 14:53:25

Partall PVA Mold Release

This water soluble, film-forming release is used to release epoxies from mold or model. Recommended application procedure is apply wax, then PVA Mold Release then wax again.

Edited by - on

sodonnell
1st Mate

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76 Posts

Response Posted - 08/04/2005 : 00:09:13

I'd like to post pictures of the damage to get opinions.
How do I do this within a message post.

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 08/04/2005 : 06:03:45

First you need a place to upload the pictures like www.photobucket.com. Then you take the code they provide under the images, for this forum use the IMG designated code.

When you type your reply it will look something like this:

This is the picture of my fiberglass damage:
(img/damage picture.jpg /img)

There won't be paranthesis, I put thosre in so the forum software wouldn't actually try to show a picture.

There is a much more detailed explanation under the "testing forum" which you may also find helpful. Good idea to practice in the testing forum till you get it figured out.

I hope that helps.

Edited by - on

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